| Research
Plant
physiological ecology, whole plant physiology, plant responses to global
change, symbiotic N2 fixation
My
research investigates mechanisms operating at the organ and whole plant
levels and searches for insight into factors that affect the scaling of
physiological responses to the community level. I am particularly interested
in the role of wild species with unique functional attributes such as
symbiotic N2 fixation. One of my main projects is at Cedar Creek Natural
History Area in east central Minnesota in which I am investigating physiological
determinants of plant growth responses to global change factors such as
elevated atmospheric CO2, increase N availability, and species richness
(http://biocon.fr.umn.edu/).
I am also working on a project located just outside Eau Claire, Wisconsin,
where we have restored a 12-acre agricultural field to prairie. We have
taken an experimental approach to this by varying planting history (in
terms of taxonomic and functional diversity), soil nitrogen, and fungicide
application (that acts to reduce soil fungi). Therefore, we can investigate
the effects of species composition, N availability and the presence of
beneficial mycorrhizal fungi on plant and community dynamics during establishment,
with potential benefit to future restoration efforts. In general,
my questions ask how organisms adjust physiologically to prevailing environmental
conditions and the implications these adjustments have on species interactions,
community dynamics and our ability to predict plant response to global
change.
Recent
publications
- Reich
PB, Hobbie S, Lee TD, Ellsworth D, West JB, Tilman
D, Knops J, Naeem S, Trost J. 2006. Nitrogen limitation constrains sustainability
of ecosystem response to CO2. Nature 440:922-925.
- Lee
TD, Reich PB, Bolstad
PV. 2005. Acclimation of leaf respiration to temperature is rapid and
related to specific leaf area, soluble sugars and leaf nitrogen across
three temperate deciduous tree species. Functional Ecology,
19: 640-647.
- West
JB, HilleRisLambers J, Lee TD, Hobbie SE, Reich PB.
2005. Legume species identity and soil N supply determine symbiotic
nitrogen-fixation responses to elevated atmospheric [CO2]. New Phytologist,
167:523-530.
- Wright
IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, Ackerly DD, Baruch Z, Bongers F, Cavender-Bares
J, Chapin T, Cornelissen JHC, Deimer M, Fexas J, Garnier E, Groom PK,
Gulias J, Hikosaka K, Lamont BB, Lee T, Lee W, Lusk
C, Midgley JJ, Navas ML, Niinemets Ü, Oleksyn J, Osada N, Poorter
H, Poot P, Prior L, Pyankov VI, Roumet C, Thomas SC, Tjoelker MG, Veneklaas
E, Villar R. 2004. The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature
428:821-827.
- Lee
TD, Reich PB, Tjoelker
MG. 2003. Legume presence increases photosynthesis and N concentrations
of co-occurring non-fixers but does not modulate their responsiveness
to carbon dioxide enrichment. Oecologia 137:22-31.
- Lee
TD, Tjoelker MG, Reich
PB, Russelle MP. 2003. Contrasting response of an N-fixing and non N-fixing
forb to elevated CO2: dependence on soil N supply. Plant and Soil
255:475-486.
- Bolstad
PV, Reich PB, Lee TD. 2003. Rapid acclimation to temperature
of leaf respiration in Quercus alba and Q. rubra.
Tree Physiology 23(14): 969-976
- Lee
TD, Tjoelker MG, Ellsworth
DS, Reich PB. 2001. Leaf gas exchange responses of 13 prairie grassland
species to elevated carbon dioxide and increased nitrogen supply. New
Phytologist 150: 405-418.
- Reich
PB, Tilman D, Craine J, Ellsworth D, Tjoelker M, Knops J, Wedin D, Naeem
S, Bahauddin D, Goth J, Bengston W, Lee T. 2001. Do
functional groups differ in acquisition and use of C, N and water under
varying atmospheric CO2 and N availability regimes? A field test using
16 grassland species. New Phytologist 150: 435-448.
- Reich
PB, Knops J, Tilman D, Craine J, Ellsworth D, Tjoelker M, Lee
T, Wedin D, Naeem S, Bahauddin D, Hendrey G, Jose S, Wrage
K, Goth J, Bengston W. 2001. Plant diversity enhances ecosystem responses
to elevated CO2 and nitrogen deposition. Nature 410: 809-812.
- Tjoelker
MG, Oleksyn J, Lee TD, Reich PB. 2001. Direct inhibition
of leaf dark respiration by elevated carbon dioxide is minor in 12 grassland
species. New Phytologist 150: 419-424.
Teaches
- Biol
1012 General Biology II
- Biol
3998 Seminar II
- Biol
4601 Plant Physiology
- Biol
5602 Plant Physiology Laboratory
Student
projects
Graduate
students
- Artur Stefanski. The effects of
reduced mycorrhizae and N availability on the physiology, growth and
competitive interactions among seven grassland plant species.
Undergraduate students
- Wood, Brandon (2007-current, UMD UROP) "The effects of low water availability on growth and N fixation of native legume species"
- Koop, Anthony (2007-current, UMD lab assistant)
- Claire Mickelson (UWEC)“The effects of elevated atmospheric CO2, N enrichment and species richness on plant physiological responses to drought”
Past
undergraduate student/faculty collaborations
- Alison Welin (UWEC McNair Scholar). “Plant traits during prairie seedling establishment”
- Mike Fell, Christine Dahlheimer (UWEC). “Multivariate controls on competition, prairie assembly, and function”
- Elizabeth Ryan, Krisyn Grezlak, Christina
Chalk, Nathaniel Butler, Kevin Buffington (2003 – 2006) “Multivariate
controls on competition, prairie assembly, and function”
- Michael Schicker, Steven Chevalier (2004-2006)
“Native prairie legume responses to competition, nutrient addition
and fungicide treatments a prairie restoration experiment”
- Jesse Anderson (2003-2004) “Inoculum
potential of endomycorrhizal fungi in an agricultural field: determining
suitability for prairie restoration and testing for effectiveness of
fungicide treatments”
- Kally Worm, (2003-2005) “Lupinus
(N2-fixer) and Andropogon (C4 grass) in multi-species communities:
varying photosynthetic and biomass responses to atmospheric CO2 and
soil N”
- Lauren Losek, Emily Hockman (2003-2005)
“The effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on photosynthesis
and water use efficiency across 13 prairie species”
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